NABD Overview 2018-19

Adaption grants awarded during the year totalled £52,959.19 (an increase of £7,388.44 over the 2017/18 fiscal period) and a further £483.24 (an increase of £309.60 over the 2017/18 fiscal period) was spent on adaptations to the 125cc motorcycles in the NABD learner loaner fleet.

As ever maintain our commitment to ensure every single penny of general donations to the NABD will go directly towards grants.

A further £2,015.00 was donated towards the sponsorship of specified aspects of the NABD’s core costs. • Solo motorcycles 50 • New motorcycle/trike conversions 11 • Existing trikes 11 • Motorcycle/Sidecar Combinations 2

The adaptations funded by these NABD grants included a broad range of equipment and an eclectic range of design and fabrication challenges, including: • Kliktronic gear changers 45 • K‐Lever2 twin lever units 15 • Hudson Engineering Thumb operated brakes 3 • PFM twin lever units 1 • Hydraulic to cable conversion 1

We have always been proud to state that 100% of donations go directly to the purpose for which they are donated. In the 2017/18 fiscal year we once again proved that this is no idle boast.

ADAPTATION GRANTS: During the fiscal period April 2018 –March 2018, the NABD approved 74 adaptation grants to help disabled people to have vehicles adapted to suit their needs. This is an increase of sixteen grants compared with the previous fiscal year. These grants totalled £52,959.19 which is an increase of £7,388.44 over the total awarded in adaptation grants over the previous fiscal year.

NB. Five of these grants (totalling £4,380.00) were awarded to ex‐members of the British armed forces. All of these grants were funded by the general NABD adaptation fund because there were not sufficient funds in the ring‐fenced AFB fund to cover them at the time the applications were received.

The geographical breakdown of grants awarded by the NABD is as follows: • England (South) 26 • England (North) 19 • England (Midlands) 17 • Northern Ireland 2 • Eire 2 • Wales 4 • Scotland 4

NB. This demographic simply reflects the geographical spread of grants applied for rather than any form of bias on the part of the NABD. The Isle of Man and the Channel Isles also fall within the bailiwick of the NABD adaptation grant system but no grant applications were received from these areas during the 2018/19 fiscal year.

NB. Many adaptations have also involved one‐off specialist engineering such as, the fitting of reversing differentials, throttle adaptions, steering dampers, wheelchair racks, modified handlebars, trike conversions etc.

LEARNER LOANER MOTORCYCLES: The NABD owns ten 125cc motorcycles, which are each adapted to suit specific disabilities. These motorcycles are loaned to disabled people who wish to take professional motorcycle training and tests. There is no hire charge attached to this service but a £150.00 administration fee is charged to cover the cost of delivery and collection of the machines.

Most of the machines have been out on loan throughout the year (some more than once). Eight NABD members have completed their Compulsory Basic Training courses (CBT) using NABD Learner/Loaner machines. Of these, five have so far successfully gone on to pass their full Category‐A licence test.

NABD Learner/Loaner machines had also been used successfully in fourteen rider assessments over this period.

NABD Learner/Loaner motorcycles have also been displayed on a large number of NABD information stands at motorcycle and/or disability events throughout the year.

The cost of maintaining, servicing and MOT testing the NABD Learner/Loaner fleet throughout the 2018/2019 fiscal year was sponsored by a donation of £1,000.00 for this purpose by the organisers of the Hoggin’ The Bridge event.

National Committee Changes: There have been a few changes to the National Committee since April 2018.

Wendy Seddon retired from her post of Rally Secretary, for personal reasons.

Wendy had many years of sterling service in various National Committee posts and we were all extremely sad to see her go but we also understood the pressure she was under and we offer her our heartfelt thanks for all she has done for the NABD in the past.

Dave Silburn retired from his post as manager of the Learner/Loaner scheme due to deteriorating health. Dave’s work with the learner/loaner scheme had been nothing short of heroic over the years. I think it fair to say that he had revolutionised the way in which the scheme was managed and he had been instrumental in dozens of individuals progressing from CBT to full licence in addition to countless more having advisory assessments to identify the best type of adaptations to fit their needs. Our heartfelt thanks go to Dave Silburn for his valiant efforts on behalf of the NABD. He is a true NABD hero!

The Learner/Loaner post is an extremely important facet of the services provided by the NABD so, following Dave Silburn’s retirement the search was on for another worthy stalwart to fill the position. Fortune soon smiled upon the NABD when Gordon Hooper volunteered and was swiftly co‐opted into the post. He has since proven his worth with some sterling work, both with the management of the scheme and in providing advisory assessments.

More recently Adrian (Lemmy) Straughan has retired from the post of Rep’s Liaison due to health reasons and the post has been taken‐on jointly by Ross Lockett (Sponsorship) and Vic Hawkes (Club Liaison).

OPEN HOUSE MAGAZINE: 2018 ‐2019 was a fairly disastrous year for the Open House magazine with only one of four issues actually being produced in that time‐frame.

The NABD Chairman would like it known that the fault for this lies purely with himself and nobody else.

Both his paid work as an expert witness for the High Courts and his ‘other’ voluntary work with the Hulse Towers Hedgehog Refuge, which he runs jointly with his partner Mandy, have both grown exponentially to the point where he simply could not find time to produce the quarterly issues of Open House.

That issue was produced in print form as usual but it also seemed the most opportune time to finally make the move to an on‐line magazine.

We have tried very hard for several years to build‐up advertising within the magazine to offset some of the production and circulation costs but sadly this has never raised enough to even come close to covering the printing costs. The fact is that, in its current format, the Open House magazine costs in excess of £18,000 per year to print and post out to members and affiliates. What may surprise people even more is that the cost of postage actually outweighs the cost of printing!

After much soul‐searching and discussion the national committee have concluded that the only way to keep the Open House magazine from becoming an unbearable burden on NABD funds is to publish it in electronic form as an on‐line quarterly magazine just one issue per year being printed as a hard copy and circulated by post to members and affiliates.

It has been decided that the first issue each year (hopefully printed in January each year) will be printed and circulated to members in its current format as a glossy 32‐page magazine. This will also allow us to distribute the year‐bars to members in that issue. That first issue will also be made available on‐line but the following three issues, in April, July and October, will be produced only as an online publication.

Every issue will also be downloadable as .PDF files for those who wish to print‐off any particular article or the whole magazine if they wish to.

For those few members who have no access to the internet we will have a facility to print‐off the .PDF files of the online‐only issues at the NABD office and post them to members free of charge.

CONSULTATIONS: Throughout the 2018‐2019 fiscal period Vic Hawkes and I have continued our work as members of the Highways England Motorcycle Safety Group.

I am pleased to say that the involvement of the NABD in the forefront of this group has enabled us to affect many very positive steps toward ensuring that issues relating to the safety of motorcyclists on trunk roads and motorways in England are being addressed at the highest levels.

This is involvement at the higher levels of decision‐making and it reflects the respect with which government departments and other authorities have for the work and expertise of the NABD.

NABD OFFICE STAFF: Toward the latter end of 2018 our office manager Julie Williams was on sick leave for the better part of two months. Though our full‐time admin assistant, Jane Singleton, did her best to minimise the impact of Julie’s absence, it was still keenly felt. After investigation since the start of 2019 I decided that Paypal had the facility we could utilise to implement auto‐renewal for memberships. (Whilst not covered specifically in this reports timeframe, this is now live via the website.)

NABD NEWS BULLETINS: The e‐bulletins produced by NABD Public Relations Officer, John Lysons, featuring updates on the latest NABD news and activities, have continued to enjoy a great deal of positive feedback.

These bulletins are circulated through social media and numerous motorcycle forums and forwarded directly to affiliated clubs and motorcycle press contacts.

When Julie returned to work just after new‐year 2019 there was an enormous backlog of work waiting for her and over the following three‐months she made a gargantuan effort to get everything back on track.

I mention it here in my annual report because there may still be one or two people who wonder if two paid employees are really necessary for a charity of our size and nature and, having experienced the chaos of being without one of those two employees for a somewhat extended period, I can say on behalf of the whole NABD National Committee that we simply could not continue to operate without their essential skills and dedication to the cause.

NABD INTERNET & IT SYSTEMS: This year has seen the implementation of a few IT related projects, which have benefited the Association.

One was the introduction of the Sum Up card readers to enable the taking of card payments in a mobile situation, such as the National Stall and the National Rally. This has proven to be successful and welcomed by customers and rally attendees.

The second has been the set up and commissioning of the Video Teleconferencing equipment at the Office. This comprises of a wall mounted computer monitor, a wall mounted webcam and speakers. Several of the Committee have been able to utilise the facility to attend meetings without having to travel to the Office itself, reducing expenses incurred & maintaining Quorum for those meetings which might not otherwise have been possible. The actual meetings are accessed using the Microsoft Teams app. BRIEF STATEMENT OF THE CHARITY'S POLICY ON RESERVES: Though the reserves are somewhat depleted at present it is our intention to build‐up new reserves, when the financial situation allows, to act as a buffer to protect the association from the worst ravages of the wildly fluctuating British economy.

SUMMARY: In summing up the 2018‐2019 fiscal year for the NABD I would say was a relatively unsurprising year where a lot of very hard work was put in to make what improvements we could whilst fighting very hard against the effects of the inept handling of the British economy by self‐serving politicians. With that in mind I believe it fair to say we have done extremely well against terrible odds.

As it has for the past 27‐years the NABD remains true to its aims and its philosophy and more disabled people than ever are enjoying the freedom and independence of motorcycling directly due to of the work of the NABD and, when all is said and done, that remains what we are all about.

Rick Hulse NABD Chairman

Venue: The Winking Man Pub, Buxton Road, Upper Hulme ST13 8UH. (On the A53 between Leek and Buxton).

Date: Saturday 27th June 2020 After Conference Party: Summerhills Farm, Upper Hulme, Leek, Staffordshire ST13 8UG

6.30pm until late

Time: 10.30am to 4.00pm (Meeting starts at 11:00am promptly)

Representatives of affiliated groups are welcome to attend, each affiliated group carries a single vote.

Tea, Coffee and a buffet will be available free of charge for those attending the meeting. The building and toilets are wheelchair accessible.

Camping Space: is available free of charge for those who wish to arrive on Friday and/or stay over on Saturday night at the after party location. Summerhills Farm is just over a mile from the Winking Man pub. The farm is off the A53 between Leek and Buxton, just opposite the Winking Man. There will be NABD signposts from the A53.

(please note the postcode will not take you to the correct farm on your sat‐nav, please follow the signposts)

Please bring your own booze, as there will be no bar at the after conference party at the farm. Hot food will be available on Saturday evening only.

Please put this date in your diary and attend if at all possible.

It would be appreciated if you could let the office know if you do intend to be there so that we can gauge numbers for the buffet and refreshments.

Tel: 0844 415 4849 Email: office@thenabd.org.uk

Once again the Trustees would like to thank Stuart Gregory for hosting the after AGM party for the 6th consecutive time.